Page 47 of An Invocation of Monsters

They were arrayed in lines running down his skull, swirling over his shoulders, back, and arms. Thinner, glistening lines streamed down his tentacles, glowing a brighter shade of pink as I explored the designs of the lights.

Pink. Oh, my.

But realizing that I was turning on the Klee didn’t make me want to stop. After being terrified out of my mind, I was perfectly happy to be held and comforted by this being for as long as he wanted to.

And the heat that had risen in me before was flaring back to life.

It is fast, Drazan finally said, in answer to my question. His voice was a low growl in my mind, the same gruffness I’d heard the first time we’d met. And as it can’t harm us, we have not bothered to try and destroy it. But if it tries to harm you again… then the Zizhatl will rip its mind from its body and send it screaming through space and time, into an eternal abyss from which there is no return.

Wow, that was hardcore. But if it did try to kill me, I wasn’t sure Toth would be doing any mental dismembering in time to stop me from bleeding out.

You are still worrying, Elle. Let me take your worries away. It is gone, and only we remain.

I gazed up at the monster, wondering how he managed to make simple things like ‘we’re alone’ sound like a dire portent.

Was it just part of being a monster? Was high drama a typical aspect of Void creature guidelines and conduct?

But when I opened my mouth, what came out was not that question, but: “So, exactly how are you planning to take my worries away, hmm?”

Complete with a flirty tone of voice.

Looked like Horny Elle had managed to escape from the deepest chasms of my brain.

By protecting my future mate, he said, arms tightening around me. He could easily have squeezed my bones to dust, but he was so careful about how tightly he gripped me. By showing her what I offer.

He drifted into a cove, where the water was shallow and bright with luminescence from the lake and the glowing pebbles underfoot.

It was still deep enough to keep me suspended, his tentacles snaking around me to keep my head above water.

My heart was going too fast, the heat in my belly twisting like something alive.

It’s okay to be touched, I told myself. It’s not shameful to want it.

“I think… I do. I want what you offer.” My voice was uncharacteristically hoarse. My limbs were shaking from sheer nerves.

What if he didn’t find me to be any good? I didn’t know what monsters even liked for sex—

But he immediately took control, his lights glimmering scarlet now.

The tentacles peeled away my sodden T-shirt and easily tore away the clasp of my bra. I shivered, resisting the urge to clutch my arms around myself.

His lights were more than glimmering now; they were a full flare of crimson, the monster’s eyes hooded with lust.

So beautiful, Elle, he whispered in my mind, tentacles sliding over my back and around my sides to encircle my breasts. I whimpered at the sudden pressure, then the suckers clamped to my nipples.

A full-throated moan escaped me as he sucked at them, his claws sliding my panties down over my hips. My clothes drifted off into the lake, forgotten and unwanted.

Another round of shivering coursed through me as tentacles encircled my ankles, and crept over my inner knees and onto my thighs.

Without thinking, I arched my hips, sending water sloshing all around me.

My eager girl, the monster purred. I felt the tip of a tentacle caress my lower stomach, drifting downwards.

When its warm slickness parted my folds, I bit back a cry as a small sucker latched onto my clit and sucked hard.

Even though the water around me was warm, the monster seemed to be the one heating me from the inside out.

The tentacle rubbed against my clit with gentle but insistent pressure, suckers pulsating, and I couldn’t help moaning as the pleasure built, my body tightening—

---